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A jury last month ruled in favor of identical twins who sued the Medical University of South Carolina for defamation after they were accused of cheating on a medical exam, The Washington Post reported. Kayla and Kellie Bingham were each awarded $750,000 in damages.
The twins were accused of academic dishonesty in May 2016 after proctors noted unusual similarities on their end-of-year medical exams. They answered 296 of 307 questions the same way—including 54 on which they both gave the same incorrect answers. The university’s honor council ruled that they had cheated.
The twins appealed, arguing that identical twins often perform almost identically on tests. The decision was overturned, and then the sisters sued the university for defamation.
MUSC filed posttrial motions earlier this month challenging both the ruling and the amount of damages set by the jury.
The sisters told the Post they withdrew from MUSC at the recommendation of a dean after experiencing hostility from other students. They opted to go to law school instead, and now both work as government affairs advisers at the same Columbia, S.C., law firm.
